Jimmy Lane: The little stars of country music

Jimmy Lane

Thursday

Aug 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2007 at 3:14 PM

Last week we talked about how 17-year-old Taylor Swift is quickly becoming one of the biggest stars in country music. This week, we will examine the many country stars who had hit records while in their teens or pre-teens.

Last week we talked about how 17-year-old Taylor Swift is quickly becoming one of the biggest stars in country music. This week, we will examine the many country stars who had hit records while in their teens or pre-teens.

Brenda Lee was one of the first. Her debut country album was recorded when she was 11 years old. Her first hit song was “One Step at a Time,” which peaked at No. 15 on the country charts when she was 12. Known as “Little Miss Dynamite,” Brenda Lee became one of the best-selling artists of the 50s and 60s. Her biggest hit song was “Rockin’ Round the Christmas Tree,” which she recorded at age 13.

Tanya Tucker had her first big hit record at age 13 with “Delta Dawn.” Tucker also broke new ground by recording controversial songs for someone of her age. She was only 15 when she recorded “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone).” Tucker is also one of the few child stars whose career would last long past her teenage years, having hit records in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Leanne Rimes recorded her first album at age 11. She had her first hit record at age 13 with “Blue.” The song was written 30 years earlier, and Patsy Cline was originally supposed to record it. The single was one of the biggest hits of the ’90s, and the album of the same name has sold more than 6 million copies. Rimes was the youngest artist to ever win a Grammy award.

Billy Gilman was born in Hope Valley, R.I., in 1988. He was 11 years old when his single “One Voice” was released to radio. A few months later, his debut album went platinum, making Gilman the youngest artist to have a platinum album. His album climbed to the top of the country album charts and now Gilman is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest artist to achieve that milestone.

There have been other artists to have big hit records while still in their teenage years. Marie Osmond was 14 when she had a hit record with “Paper Roses.” Lila McCann’s single, “Down Came a Blackbird,” helped her score a platinum album at age 16. Jessica Andrews’ first album was recorded when she was 16 years old.

Country tidbits: While Toby Keith was in Sturgis, S.D., for the 67th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, he made an impromptu stop that surprised some local fans. Toby and his crew noticed a homemade banner hanging from a house that read, “Hey Toby Keith, come in here and get drunk and be somebody. You’ll love this bar house!” Toby and his group of four riders crossed three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic and pulled up in the front yard. ... Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton are among the artists joining Charlie Daniels for “Duents,” an album due out this fall on his Blue Hat Records label. Daniels said he was recording another disc when a friend suggested the idea, leading to the initial album being put on hold.

Norwich Bulletin

Jimmy Lane is the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. disc jockey and program director at WCTY (97.7 FM) in Norwich. E-mail him at jimmy@wcty.com.